U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-IA 4) released the following statement after introducing H.R. 2777, the Social Security Integrity Act of 2015:

“Current reports show that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has an estimated 6.5 million people over the age of 112 with active Social Security Numbers,” said King. “However as of the Fall of 2014, only 42 people are known to have ever reached that age. This shows the fraud and misuse of Social Security Numbers in our country. My Social Security Integrity Act directs the Commissioner of Social Security to implement certain record keeping recommendations which force the SSA to clean up their records and closes the avenue of fraudulent social security numbers.

Numerous federal benefit-paying entities, the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, state and local government entities, and private industry customers also rely on the accuracy of completeness of the SSA’s death information to detect unreported deaths and prevent fraud.

Taxpayers deserve the assurance that the actions necessary to uphold the integrity in the payment of federal benefits is maintained. My bill stops fraudulent payments and enforces more transparency within the Social Security Administration. This bill lays the foundation for even more effective Congressional action.”